Les Baxter
Les Baxter is a pianist who composed and arranged for the top swing bands of the '40s and '50s, but he is better known as the founder of exotica, a variation of easy listening that glorified the sounds and styles of Polynesia, Africa, and South America, even as it retained the traditional string-and-horn arrangements of instrumental pop. Exotica became a massively popular trend in the '50s, with thousands of record buyers listening to Baxter, Martin Denny, and their imitators. Baxter also pioneered the use of the electronic instrument the theremin, which has a haunting, howling sound.
Baxter studied piano at the Detroit Conservatory and Pepperdine College in Los Angeles. After he completed school, he abandoned the piano and became a vocalist. When he was 23, he joined Mel Tormé's Mel-Tones. The group sang on Artie Shaw records, including the hit "What Is This Thing Called Love."
In 1950, he became an arranger and conductor for Capitol Records, working on hits by Nat King Cole, including "Mona Lisa." Around the same time, Baxter began recording his own albums. In 1948, he released a triple-78 album called Music out of the Moon, which ushered in space-age pop with its use of the theremin. Four years later, he began recording exotica albums with Le Sacre du Sauvage.
On his early-'50s singles Baxter was relatively straightforward, performing versions of standards like the number one hits "Unchained Melody" and "The Poor People of Paris," but on his albums he experimented with all sorts of world musics, adapting them for his orchestra. As he was recording his exotica albums, Baxter was also the musical director for the radio show Halls of Ivy, plus Abbott & Costello radio shows; he also composed over 100 film scores, concentrating on horror movies and teenage musicals and comedies, though he also did dramas like Giant.
Baxter's heyday was in the '50s and '60s. Although he continued to compose and record in the '70s, his output was sporadic. Nevertheless, a cult following formed around his exotica recordings that persisted into the '90s.
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Lounge Music Deluxe: 101 Strings
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Lounge - Released by CHV Music Factory on 1 Jan 2011
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Jewels Of The Sea
Pop - Released by Capitol Records on 1 Jan 2000
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Les Baxter's La Femme
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24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
'Round The World With Les Baxter
Lounge - Released by Capitol Records on 1 Jan 1957
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Ports of Pleasure
Pop - Released by Capitol Records on 1 Jan 1957
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Ports Of Pleasure (Mono Version)
Jazz - Released by Capitol Records on 1 Jan 1957
24-Bit 96.0 kHz - Stereo -
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Moog Rock: Great Classic Hits
Classical - Released by GNP Crescendo on 2 Feb 1972
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Les Baxter's Jungle Jazz
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The Primitive & The Passionate
Pop - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on 23 May 2006
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The Sacred Idol
Rock - Released by Hyde Park Records on 6 Jan 2024
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
The Summer Moods of Les Baxter
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Classical - Released by Countdown Media GmbH on 9 Jun 2008
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
Highlights of Les Baxter
Pop - Released by Weishaupt Music & Entertainment on 14 May 2017
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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The Academy Award Winners
Pop - Released by Rhino - Warner Records on 14 Sep 2010
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101 Strings Orchestra Presents Les Baxter
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Pop - Released by Dockland Music on 15 Jan 2021
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo -
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Thinking of You
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Electro Tropicando: The Les Baxter Remixes (Vuducru Remix)
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House - Released by Dockland Music on 11 Aug 2023
16-Bit CD Quality 44.1 kHz - Stereo